Five years later...
Back across the open waters far from the lands of Berk, Outcast Island, and Berserker Island, is the sanctuary for all the dragons. The place where they can live freely and can even leave at any time they wish.
Kumandra.
Up high above the skies of the lands, making their way through the waters that connected the five lands together, Hiccup let out a cheer as he soared through the skies. Of course, it was on the back of his beloved dragon brother Toothless (in all but blood) as they soared around and even past the Shrimporium that was docked in Tail.
Boun, who has grown up and even had his hair grown out, watched them and waved to the dragon. Hiccup laughed as he raised his new and improved mask up to show a friendly smile.
Quickly looking around where Boun was, they noticed how well the people of Tail had gotten used to their dragons. Hiccup was happy as he looked around and saw a few Whispering Deaths that were tunneling caverns and tunnels for the people to find water deep within the caves below. Boun was also hanging out with his dragon, the Monstrous Nightmare that they rescued from Berk he nicknamed Scorch. Due to his massive size, they expanded upon the Shrimporium, which was warranted due to the redesign they needed to go through after the Dragon Hunters attempted to destroy it. And not to mention with Scorch's fire and flameproof flamed body, Boun and his family's business was able to keep up with more customers.
Not to mention with the addition of Terror Mail and other dragons, they were able to even start a flight delivery service for their food. People would send in a Terror Mail to the Shrimporium from all over the five lands, then they would be able to revive the meal at their home. They can even keep the food warm on the back of Scorch or even cook it on the go.
Hiccup just kept on flying as he made his way across the land and ended up passing over Talon where he passed upon Noi and her mother and even the Ongies who have all grown. Well, everyone but the Ongies has stayed the same over the years. When he flew over the land, everyone cheered to hear Toothless screech, a few people waved and others cheered.
The two of them flew over the village and started to make their way off down further through the river and made it to Heart. Once there, they noticed Chief Benja and Raya were walking around the streets when they heard Toothless and looked up to watch them. Deciding to give the woman he loved a little unique fun, Hiccup quickly slid off of Toothless' back and free-fell for a moment. Toothless rolled his eyes as Hiccup would always do something to show off to Raya. It was for no real reason except she and he loved to do it.
Hiccup then reached under his arms and activated his makeshift wings that he made over the years in case of a time he and Toothless were to be separated mid-flight. And due to the constant dozens of times, he's constantly already fallen off his back. Toothless backed off a bit as he then shot a few blasts at his rider, who was quick to glide above them to avoid getting hit. Raya laughed and bought a smile to Hiccup's face when Toothless flew underneath his friend so he could mount the dragon.
Once that was accomplished, Hiccup and Toothless kept going as they flew across the sky to the next village. Taking a bit of a loop around the whole island first, it ended with them passing Fang. Ever since the Dragon Hunters tried to take over and were defeated, Fang required repair over the years. But with the help of the other dragons and other lands, they were able to get the village back to a sense of normalcy. Without a leader, most lands have practically taken turns to try and help them deal with their lack of leadership until Namaari returned. Seemed he was there just to watch the Nightmares and Thunderdrums carrying supplies for the people being led by people from the other lands.
Hiccup saw everything was going smoothly and the people of Fang were happy to accept the help of other lands. Especially since they lost most of their soldiers to the Hunters and lost their last leader to Krogan. So with that in mind, he flew off as there was one last person he wanted to visit before returning to Heart to begin the day with Raya.
Ever since that day five years ago when they went out and spent days rescuing other dragons and bringing them to Kumandra, there has been nothing but peace between the five nations. All of them were a little hard to handle at first, especially with how there were a few of them that had a dragon-based diet. Luckily it was only because they didn't have the hunting skills to attract fish. When they were moved to Kumandra, they isolated themselves, but that was only for the first few years. Those would be dragons such as the Deathsong, who would eventually leave the other dragons alone and move back into the public.
While they were traveling to find other dragons, they happened to come across other tribes that actually respected and treated dragons kindly. There were the Maidens of the Wing. The Defenders seem to be a monarchy, ruled by Queen Mala who is very protective over her kingdom and all dragons, which the Defenders see as holy beings. Especially the Eruptodon, a Boulder Class dragon that lives inside a volcano on Caldera Cay and prevents it from erupting for which it is worshiped as the Great Protector. The Defenders frequently offer it tribute, like food and flowers.
There were also the Wingmaidens, who they ran into by complete accident. Hiccup and Toothless were separated from Raya and Sisu, but they were rescued by the Wingmaidens during a thunderstorm. They are said to be the protectors of the Razorwhips, at least when they were babies and then they release into the wild. The males would always kill the babies because they are blind and weak, so the females protect them as well as the women of the island.
That was where they also met a now Ex-Dragon Trapper Eret, Son of Eret. Eret's apparel greatly differs from that of the other Vikings and is composed heavily of fur. Eret is a tall, broad-framed man with beefy arms marred with scars, presumed to be from his battles against dragons. He boasts a light blue tattoo on his chin and neat dark brown hair, with two bangs draped in front of his ears. He wears a beige-white and white tunic under a thick, sleeveless fur vest with a metal owl brooch pinned on it. Two sheaths hang from his thick waistband, one behind his waist, and the other at his left side. He also wears two grey fur wristbands.
He was rescued by Hiccup and Toothless, and he was shocked to come to find it was a dragon that saved his life. Giving up his old life, he came back to Kumandra and decided to help them protect the island with a Rumblehorn he named Skullcrusher. Ever since they defeated Krogan, there were only a handful of people who were still hunting dragons, and Eret was their scout to keep going out to see if they can find any more trappers. He knew a few rotations and places where some trappers were known to visit and where they make port. But his information only lasted for some time over the years, as some were starting to get smarter. He would usually live within the range of Fang, as they lived closer to his rendezvous point every day. Not to mention Skullcrusher is a helping hand with lifting and moving things.
Hiccup began to make his way into the mountains to find the village of Spine, thanks to a new cleared pathway with the help of some Timberjack dragons. Thanks to the dragons, the people were able to cut down the trees quickly and collect them to be used for other means. Thanks to the screeching of Toothless, the people were already made aware of his arrival, and dozens of warriors and dragons were made scarce to allow them to land.
Hiccup landed Toothless just outside of the gates of Spine and got off of his friend. He then started to walk up to the gates and heard the cheers and claps of the Spine warriors. All of the lands have started to greet him this way, no matter how many times he wished for them to stop. He didn't like to be greeted like some sort of lone hero. It was a group effort that managed to save them and their lands from the Druun.
Then the man Hiccup came to see was making his way out of the gates. "Ha, ha, ha, ha!" Tong cheered as he walked ahead of his warriors and raised his hands high. "Our mighty Dragon Conquer!"
"Well, technically, the title should be Dragon-" Hiccup was gonna correct his friend when Tong pulled him in for a hug. "-Trainer!"
Tong then squeezed him, to the point Hiccup was having trouble breathing. But at this point, he was getting used to the bone-crushing sensation he gets from Tong hugging him.
"Welcome, my friend! How is that new suit of armor treating you?" Tong asks as he lets Hiccup go.
Hiccup raised his hand to his mask and lifted it, pulling a piece from around his mouth. "Ah, it's working well. But I might need some help with my balance." He and tong started to stroll into the village of Spine. "This prosthetic leg of mine could be adjusted to help with that. I'm working on a few designs I could use your input on."
"I'd be more than happy to do anything for a friend," Tong said as they walked and came across the training ground.
Hiccup couldn't help but look as he saw the smallest of all the Spine warriors. All of the people that came from here were mostly big, strong, fearless people. But there was one that stood out from the rest of them easily. Heather was in the middle of training in battle, having watched as a bigger guy came charging at her, Heather quickly used his momentum against him and managed to grab and pin him to the ground like it was nothing.
Heather had a few changes to her clothes as she added a few adjustments to the scales of her new dragon, a Razorwhip that she named Windshear. Now she wore her scales like armor over her shoulders, elbows, and even her skirt was altered with the scales.
"Whoa." Hiccup was amazed to see how far Heather had come since the day they found her. "She's becoming an amazing fighter."
"Ah, your friend is becoming one of the greatest fighters we have here." Tong applauded with a laugh. "What she doesn't have in size, she makes up in agility and strong heart."
"Yeah, can't say I never expected that." Hiccup admitted. "Well, I am happy to see that she's doing well." He then looked around and saw everything else in the village. Even Tong's wife and son. "Glad to see everyone is doing well."
Tong then pulled Hiccup close. "Ah, the victory of the battle. You are a true warrior in their eyes, Hiccup."
Hiccup couldn't believe what Tong was saying. "Come on, Tong, it was a team effort."
"Maybe so, but you were the one to vanquish the Druun!" Tong says with pride and playfully punched Hiccup. "Not to mention those Dragon Hunters."
"Ah!" Hiccup cried in pain and laughed at his friend. "Careful, you know I'm easy to break." He then rubbed his shoulder a little. "So, you said you had something to show me?"
Tong then recalled he did and dragged Hiccup along toward the blacksmith shop where Tong's dragon was. Due to her sweet nature and cuddly demeanor, and with a child at home, Tong took the Gronckle as his personal dragon. He nicknamed her Steel, which comes fitting with what Tong had called Hiccup over to show him.
"Ah, there's my girl," Tong said as he caressed Steel's head, causing her to get excited and jump a little. When she spotted Toothless, she quickly chased after him and he became playful and messed around. "Now, as I was feeding her some rocks, I took note of a few things that she started to spew when I fed her certain substances." He then pulled out a sword and showed it to Hiccup. "I fashioned this out of it."
Hiccup took the sword and felt how light it was compared to his Inferno, heck even normal swords weren't this light. "It's a little light." He handed the sword back. "It definitely doesn't feel like it would hold up in a battle."
"Ooh," Tong took the sword back with a smile. "You out of everyone else, Hiccup. You should never judge by appearance."
Then Tong demonstrated as he took the sword and swung it against a rock table they had in the middle of the room. Hiccup watched in amazement as the rock then slowly split into two like it was nothing. He had to admit that was something that he never thought that Gronckle lava could make durable steel.
"Whoa." Hiccup had to admit that was impressive. "This is incredible. It could make our weapons and even our defenses in all the kingdoms lighter and sturdier."
"That's exactly what your friend thought," Tong said as he gestured to Heather. "After she fixed herself her own weapon."
Hiccup was a little confused when he looked back out and noticed Heather now in weapons training. Wielding a double-headed battle-axe, Heather managed to fight against two men with swords and even destroyed them in seconds.
"Whoa." Hiccup was amazed and looked to Steel. "What kind of rocks did you give her?"
Tong then handed the rocks that created this Gronckle steel. "We're going to need a lot of these to make batches for everyone though. I'm afraid not many of these can be found around here. I was lucky to find those."
"I'll see if I came across any of these during my travels." Hiccup promised as he pocketed the list. "I bet we can get some more Gronckles and more rocks to help mass produce this...what do you call it?"
"I was a little marked to the name Gronckle Iron," Tong admitted.
"Don't let the missus hear that." Hiccup joked as he walked out. "Toothless?"
Toothless flew back over to Hiccup and got ready to go. "Back to Heart?"
"Thats right, Bud." Hiccup mounted Toothless with a nod, ready to finally get back to Raya. "Home."
Toothless was overjoyed every time that he heard that, the idea is amazing even five years later. They have a place to finally call a home of their own, with people that appreciate them and everything they do to try and help. Taking off into the air, they cheered and made their way to Heart.
______________________
As they flew through the air, they needed to dodge a few other dragons as they were heading in different directions. They even noticed Sisu and her family were just on the outskirts of Heart waving to the two warriors that saved them all. Once they reached Heart, they descended and Hiccup landed Toothless outside their room. Having a room with a balcony attached to it, they requested it so that they wouldn't disturb anyone with their midnight flights or their early morning flights Toothless loves to take with Hiccup. Even though he can fly by himself, Toothless loves the feeling of being with Hiccup as it was basically their time together.
Raya and Hiccup would usually spend the rest of the day together and Toothless would hang out with either Sisu or some of the other dragons to pass the time. Toothless was happy for his friend and finally having someone he can trust and even love, but it does make him a little saddened to relive the idea he doesn't have a mate of his own. Being the last of his kind (as far as they knew) meant that there weren't many other Night Furies he could take as a mate, not to mention many other dragons weren't already without a mate anyhow.
"Whoo, that was an eventful start to our day, huh, bud?" Hiccup asks as he made his way over and went behind a clothing shelf to change.
"That's one way to put it," Toothless said as he walked over and scored the ground around a sleeping rock of his. He then laid down and was trying to regain his energy after his morning flight. "That Gronckle Iron sounds like an interesting idea."
"Yeah, I could even consider using that steel as a replacement for the steel I use in Inferno." Hiccup said as he walked out and was now wearing some new clothes that Chief Benja had given him, as well as a few other clothing that he was gifted. "But I'll need to talk to Benja about actually using it. I fear in the wrong hands, it could be dangerous."
"Think that's what those Dragon Proof chains and cages were made out of?" Toothless wonders as he lies down.
"It could be." Hiccup admitted he was thinking the same as he looked at the basket of fish left for Toothless. "Well, seems one of the servants brought your food. I'm gonna go join Raya and Benja. You good?"
"I'm perfectly fine," Toothless said as he tried to sleep. "Shoo."
Hiccup rolled his eyes at his friend and made his way toward the doors and pushed them open. It had been five years and he was still getting used to the looks the people give him as he strolled through the halls. A few Terrible Terrors were squawking and were helping servants and people with their chores around the palace. They always would look to Hiccup as if he was going to request something of them. And he would only ask for the very littlest of things to be done, the same would even go for Raya. After all those years of being on the run for their respective reasons, they would rather do things themselves than have someone else go out of their way to do it.
When Hiccup reached the dining room, there he realized that nobody was around. He figured knowing that it was a beautiful day, he knew where they were. Walking his way towards a doorway, he saw Benja and Raya sitting on a mat where he saw there were a few plates spread out amongst it.
Walking down the stone steps towards them, he passed Tuk-Tuk and scratched his chin. He watched as the bug immediately cooed and was happy to see him return. He saw how relaxed they were and decided he was going to have a little bit of fun with them. He started to sneak his way over (as sneaky as he can be with a metal leg on stone) towards Raya and Benja.
Benja happened to notice him and was wondering what he was planning, but decided to not speak up and wanted to see. When Hiccup approached and made his way behind Raya, he raised his hands over to her side and started to move them up without touching her, to not alert her of his presence.
When he moved up toward her weak spots (tickle area), he then immediately got to work. The moment he ticked her, Raya squealed and jumped in fear. But Hiccup and Benja ended up laughing when Raya calmed down and started to realize what was going on. She took a second to calm her racing heart as Tuk-Tuk, Benja, Hiccup, and even a few Nadders who were in the garden were laughing.
"You!" Raya cried as she playfully punched him, causing Hiccup to laugh harder. "Don't ever do that again!"
"I'm sorry!" Hiccup apologized as he tried to stop laughing. "I just noticed the two of you...and I couldn't help it."
"Welcome back, Hiccup." Benja greeted him as he finally finished laughing. "You come to join us?"
"Yeah." Hiccup confirmed as he took a seat and Raya sat down aside from him.
"So, how was your flight?" Raya wonders, finally calming down.
"It was pretty interesting." Hiccup admitted as he started to eat. "We stopped by Spine and saw Heather is getting better with her training. Becoming quite the formidable warrior."
"Oh, I'll be the judge of that." Raya dared with a sly smile growing.
"Then Tong showed me and Toothless that he found a new metal within Gronckle lava." Hiccup went on to explain his day. "It's half as heavy and twice as strong. We think that's what Dragon Hunters used to capture dragons."
Benja was impressed to hear that. "That's quite the discovery."
"Yeah, Tong even gave me the formula." Hiccup handed the small notepaper to Benja who looked it over. "I figured I could check some of my maps and make a few trips with Toothless at night to make the trip to bring some rocks back. See if we can replicate the result with other Gronckles. If we could use this as defense, it could keep all of our lands safe. Under your support, of course."
"I'll be sure to bring that up during the next chief meeting," Benja promised and handed the list to Hiccup. "Speaking of Chiefs..." he seemed to have another plan but decided to chicken out. "have either of you heard from Namaari in recent days?"
"Oh, yeah," Raya assured him.
"Just recently." Hiccup added.
"Sharpshot dropped off a note, saying she's actually planning to make a return in the next few weeks," Raya added.
"Said she learned a lot from the lands she's visited and will be catching a ride back to Fang." Hiccup finished recalling what the note said. "Ready to take the next role as Chief of Fang."
They decided to take his word for it and went to have a nice breakfast together, something Hiccup had learned to love. During these simple times that he is surrounded by people that he loves and the people that would do anything to help and protect him. And he would do all that he could to protect them.
But what Hiccup and Raya didn't know was that Benja wanted to talk with the two of them with the future of Heart. He has been watching the couple and he knows that after everything they have been through, they were definitely ready to lead the people, as they love the couple and they have shown great leadership skills. He was planning to soon step down from Chief and allow the two of them to lead.
But he needed to make sure that they were ready for the challenge. That they were ready for the next chapter of their relationship. And for that, he was going to need to talk with both of them separately and together.
___________
Five years since the day that Hiccup and Raya made their way to the island of Berk and took all of their dragons. None of them were quite sure how it happened but were even more surprised when the next day Astrid was found sleeping on the job. Luckily her story of being attacked by someone was backed up with the evidence that the blanket that Hiccup left and the dart were not of their own.
Then there was the message.
All of the lands have begun to have a decrease in dragon attacks in recent years, which has made everyone very lost. But things started to get worse when sudden rumors were spreading of a man who was coming to their lands and recruiting the dragons. Taking them away from the places they were attacking and taking them somewhere that they could never connect to any other land. In this case, Stoick thought it would be best to have all of the Clans come together to discuss what exactly was happening.
Stoick was currently looking out to the docks where he then eyed the approaching ships from the different clans. The Berserkers, the Outcasts, and the worst, them all...Dragon Hunters. They were reported on the one man Stoick never thought he would ever call for help. Astrid and the other teens (now young adults) were waiting at the pier for all of them to come.
On the docks, Alvin the Treacherous was the first to dock and quickly stepped off to take in a breath. "Oh, it feels so good to be back on Berk."
Alvin is a massive Viking, even larger than Stoick the Vast, with a helmet sporting very long horns. He has a scar on his right cheek, and he sports black hair and a black beard. He has metal shoulder pads with spikes. He also has a red tunic with a chain-mail vest over it, armbands with metal studs on the left one and metal spikes on the right one, dark gray leather pants, a black belt with bits of bones and skulls, and white leather around the waist, and black worn boots. He also carries a sword with the upper part of a scabbard attached to it.
"And on good terms," Savage commented as he joined Alvin.
Savage carries a sword with the upper part of a scabbard attached to it. His right shoulder pad is metal with three spikes on it, and his left is a large turtle shell. He wears a brown vest with tears and patches. Savage has wrappings around his left hand and a spiked wristband on his right. He also wears a chain-mail vest made of either dragon scales or metal over a tan tunic, as well as pale red pants.
Then the second boat came into the dock that was revealed to be the Berserkers. "Presenting the High Chief of the Berserker Tribe, cracker of Skulls, the slaughter of beasts, the great and fearsome Dagur the Deranged!"
Then came marching off of the boat was the son of Oswald the Agreeable. Murderer of Heather's village and family.
Dagur has red hair which is cut short and sticks up, and he has a short, shaggy beard, and dark green eyes. He has been shown to tower over most of the teens in Berk. He has two tattoos of three lines like claw marks, one across his left eye and the other on his upper right arm. His arms are more muscly than the teens, as he has been working out during his time as leader.
"Ugh, Berk." Dagur didn't seem to be as enthusiastic about being back on Berk, unlike Alvin. "Alright, let's get this over with."
"Hold on, Dagur." Stoick approached the docks with Gobber. "We're still waiting for one more arrival."
"Who would that be, Stoick?" Alvin wonders.
That's when they heard the calls from a horn coming towards them. They watched as a boat made of steel started to make its way onto their shores. The ship made its way over and did a small turn before parking and even blocking both the Berserker and Outcast arrival ships.
"Hey!" Dagur didn't like the idea of his ship being blocked by someone else.
But then a large plank came out and dropped onto their docks. That was when the man came marching down without being announced or anything. He marched down with his body shielded by the cloak made out of dragon skins. "I was surprised to get the invitation to this meeting, Stoick."
"Drago." Stoick snarled. He wished it hadn't come to this, but he knew that if there was someone else building a dragon army, then he'd rather have one man who had an army of dragons on his side.
"I am glad to have heard you survived," Drago commented.
"Spare me the plesentraies." Stoick demanded him. "You're only here to inform us what you know of this Dragon Conquerer."
Drago snarled a little as Gobber started to lead everyone to the Great Hall so that they could talk. "This way, your Chef's."
But as they were walking, someone in a cloak came walking out from behind some barrels and revealed that it was actually Namaari. She kept the hood up around her neck as she was hiding Sharpshot around that area. Since she left Kumandra after the Druun incident, her hair has grown back on her left side and it was now reaching her shoulders. Her right side stretched downward towards her elbow, but it was braided so it would go behind her into three small blades.
She watched the Chiefs all make their way towards the Main Hall and wondered what this was about. She was just arriving with Johann and this was far as he was willing to take her. She figured she could just hang out there on Berk for a few days and wait for another traveler, Trader, or even just buy a boat for herself if it came to it.
But now she was worrying about what there was to know about these people who have shown up. The fact they were there on Berk, where five years ago they stone all of their dragons (and the other islands), but it was this Drago fellow that interested her. That only was even more warranted when she looked and realized the people on the boats Drago came on had Dragon Hunter's gear on.
Exactly like the people who took her home hostage.
Namaari looked over to Sharpshot who was around her neck and purring. "What do you think, little buddy? Should I figure out what was going on?"
Sharpshot let out a small screech in response.
"Yeah, well, what do you know?" Namaari asked sarcastically as she decided to stick around and see what was happening. She needed to see if any of these people could be a threat to Kumandra. If these people were Dragon Hunters like Krogan, then she needed to learn where they were from and make sure she could get the information to Hiccup. "I have a bad feeling something big is about to go down."
And she wasn't wrong.